Alternate Universe
by JennyGranger
Summary: Day 6 of Zutara Week
1. Chapter 1

Alternate Universe

"…and down this hall here is where you'll find the library and teachers' offices, should you ever need them."

My ears perked up when I heard the Professor's voice and I noticed the girl sitting beside me did the exact same thing. We looked at each other and nodded. This was the reason we had planted ourselves in the library on a Saturday afternoon; the new kid. As the whirring from Xavier's wheelchair became loudly, we both appeared to bury ourselves in our books once more. Until the pair came into the room, of course.

"Ah. Katara. Riley," Xavier greeted, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be in here on such a nice day. This is Zuko."

I had to choke down a gasp when I saw him. I've seen a lot of kids come in, but there was something about this boy that I felt connected to. Perhaps it was his gold eyes. Or perhaps it was because of the curiosity of what lay beneath the large bandage that covered almost half his face. Riley was the first to speak.

"Hey, Zuko." She said, walking over and shaking his hand. He seemed a bit nervous, but reciprocated the greeting nonetheless, "I'm Riley."

"Nice to meet you," he said, then looked up at me with his good eye. I started when I realized I had been staring. I quickly walked over and offered him my own hand.

"I'm… uh…. I'm Katara…." Smooth. Real smooth.

"It's nice to meet you," he responded politely, but further conversation was cut off by Xavier.

"I'm terribly sorry you two, but I'm currently needed elsewhere in the mansion. Would you mind showing Zuko to his room?"

"Not at all, Professor," I responded right away, inwardly cringing when I thought of how it must have sounded. However, no one seemed to notice. Or at least, no one mentioned anything.

"Thank you so very much. Zuko, these girls will also be willing to answer any other questions you may have. I'm sorry again to have to run off like this."

"It's all right, Professor," Zuko said, grinning slightly, which seemed to warm his expression considerably.

"I'll catch up later." And, with that, he wheeled out of the room, just as Riley's phone went off in her pocket. She took it out, looked at it, and swore.

"I have to get going." She said in a rush, moving to put her book back where it was, "I completely forgot about my meeting with Jean!" And without a backwards glance, she was gone, too.

For the next few seconds, me and Zuko just stood there. I eventually found my voice back when I noticed him shift the backpack he had slung over his shoulder.

"So… we were going to your room?" I asked, gesturing a bit to the door.

"I guess," he agreed and we made our way into the hallway.

The minutes passed in silence as we made our way up a floor and to the north wing, where most of the other boys stayed. When we opened the door to the room Xavier had told us he would be staying in, it clicked as to who he would be staying with.

"Looks like you're with Bobby," I said as we entered.

"Yeah, the Professor told me I would have a roommate. What's he like?"

"He's nice. We have spars every once in a while since our powers are so similar."

"Oh, yeah? What do you do?"

"He can conjure and control ice. I control water," I paused a bit when I saw his face fall, "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, nothing. It's just… now I know why Xavier put me with you two."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, he merely snapped his fingers and a small ball of flame appeared in his hand. He allowed it to burn for a few seconds before closing his hand on it. When I didn't say anything, he sighed and started emptying the clothes from his bag into his dresser.

I watched for a few minutes, but I was still unsure of what to say, so I did a bold move and walked over, wrapping my arms around him. He stiffened up at first, but eventually relaxed and allowed me to hold him.

"Whatever happened to you, they'll help you here," I said.

"I know," he said, pushing me off, "I've heard."

"It's true," I said, not sure why I was being so adamant on the matter, "They've helped a lot of kids get through rough times. They'll get you through this and teach you how to control your power instead of being afraid of it," he opened his mouth to argue, but I pressed on, "I can you're afraid because most people are when they come here. It's nothing new to anybody."

He just stood there for a minute, saying nothing. Eventually, he once again busied himself with his clothes. I was about to turn when he spoke.

"It's a burn," he said, and I must have looked confused because he elaborated, "On my eye. I burned myself. It'll be a permanent scar.

"Nobody here is going to care about that," I said, not entirely sure if it was true, "They'll be able to see past it."

But he merely shrugged and sat down on his bed, allowing his empty backpack to fall to the floor. He covered his face with his hands and seemed to be in deep thought. Suddenly, I felt like I was intruding, so I turned to leave.

"I'll just leave you to your thoughts, then," I said on my way out. As I went to pull the door shut behind me, I heard his voice.

"See you later."

My heart skipped a beat at the genuineness in his voice.

"See you…." I said quietly, more just confirming it with myself that I was going to get to know this boy better.


	2. Chapter 2

Alternate Universe Part 2

A few weeks later and Zuko was finding he fit into the institute better than he had ever hoped to imagine. He attended classes and seemed thrived in an environment where no one was afraid of him or belittled him because of his face. Until the day it came to remove the bandage and reveal the amount of damage underneath.

"Zuko?" I asked, poking my head into his bedroom, relieved when Bobby wasn't there, "Are you coming? Dr. Grey told me to come get you."

"Yeah…" he said, but his response was as distant as his gaze out the window, "Be right there."

I waited for a few seconds before entering the room. When he didn't turn to look as I entered, I suspected he was nervous. Now I knew he was.

"Come on," I said, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Let's just go and get this over with. Okay?" I finished, placing a hand on the good side of his face, noticing how pale his skin was compared to my color.

He nodded and I moved my hand to grip his and gently lead him out to the hallway and to the elevator that would take us to the infirmary, held in the lower levels of the vast mansion. He was silent from the time we left the bedroom, to when we entered the examination room a few minutes later. Dr. Jean Grey was just pulling on her rubber gloves and smiled to us when we walked in. She gestured for Zuko to sit on the stainless steel table in the middle of the room and turned to get a few instruments ready. I turned to leave, but Zuko grabbed my arm.

"Stay?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Of course."

He heaved himself up onto the table as Dr. Grey walked over, bearing some sort of scissors. Zuko's hand found mine and he squeezed tightly.

"Ready?" the doctor asked, and Zuko nodded.

His good eye was shut tight throughout the whole procedure. Even after the gauze bandage fell away, it wasn't until he felt Jean's touch on his face did he slowly start to lift his lids. Blinking rapidly, he looked up at her, not knowing what to expect.

"It seems to have healed nicely," she said, "Can you still see?"

He closed his right eye and looked around with his left for a second before answering, "It's a little fuzzy."

She smiled. It must have been good.

"That's to be expected after having been bandaged so long."

He seemed to hesitate before asking his next inquiry.

"What does it look like?"

Jean smiled kindly once again and handed him a mirror. As soon as he saw his reflection, he gasped. The scar that had been lying beneath the bandages was red and angry looking. It encompassed his entire eye, from the bridge of his nose, all the way back to his ear. He stared at it for only a second longer before placing the mirror face-down beside him.

"Hey," I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulder, "It's okay. It looks fine. It makes you look -"

"What?" he asked roughly, "What does it make me look like? You can't possibly know what it's like to have a hideous deformation like this. You can't know what it's like to have people cringe when they look at you. You're too beautiful for that." His brain seemed to catch up with what he had said and he stopped suddenly, his cheeks red. He looked away from me.

"I'm… what?" I asked quietly, making sure I had heard correctly.

"You're beautiful. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he told a point on the floor somewhere nowhere near me.

I said nothing, until I was able to place my hand on his chin and make him look me in the eyes.

"It makes you look handsome. Sexy, even."

And then we kissed.


End file.
